This is another LLI presentation. I was not as happy with this talk as with some of the others I have given.I am not sure where I stand on this issue.

Most discussion about a national identity card has focused on the issue of terrorism rather than that of immigration, but much of the logic is the same.

Support for a national ID card was relatively low until 911. Right after 911 support jumped to 70%. By 2004 56% of Americans still thought it was a good idea.

Details of proposals for such card vary, questions include

Would the card be compulsory or non compulsory? Under non compulsory proposals you don't have to have one, but life is much easier if you do.

When would you have to present the card? Any time a government official asks for it. To get a job or enroll in school. To receive social services Or only for certain activities, like boarding an airplane.

How much information would be included on the card? Smart card technology makes it possible to contain a wealth of information.

If we wish to halt illegal immigration then there must be some way to identify who is here legally and who is not.

Currently the most often used IDs in this country are birth certificates, Social Security Numbers and Driver's Licenses.

Unfortunately it is relatively easy to obtain fraudulent copies of these documents and there is a thriving black market in them.

The Driver's License is the closest thing we have to a universal ID.

18 of the 19 911 hijackers had either state issued drivers license or ID cards, or counterfeit driver's licenses.

To be effective a national ID card

would have to be tamper proof,

would need to include a digital picture and some biometric, such as a finger print or retina scan,

would need to be machine readable

and need to be backed up by a data base that could verify that the card was issued to the holder.

It would also be necessary to get a handle on so called "breeder documents", particularly the birth certificate. If I have a birth certificate I can get a Social Security Number and a driver's license.

Supporters of a national ID card point out over 100 countries have either compulsory or non compulsory cards, including

Argentina

Egypt

Madagascar

Sweden

Australia

Estonia

Malaysia

Switzerland

Austria

Finland

Netherlands

Thailand

Belarus

France

Turkey

Belgium

Germany

Poland

Vietnam

BosniaHerzegovina

Greece

Portugal

Brazil

Hong Kong

Romania

Bulgaria

Hungary

Russia

Canada

Iceland

Saudi Arabia

Chile

Indonesia

Singapore

China

Israel

Slovakia

Columbia

Italy

Slovenia

Croatia

Latvia

South Africa

Cuba

Lithuania

Spain

CzechRepublic

Luxembourg

Sri Lanka

Opposition to the card centers on three points.

First, it would be prohibitively expensive.

The Real ID Act, which was passed by congress in 2005, incorporates many of the elements of a national ID card by standardizing state driver's licenses.

A September 2006 analysis by the a number of state organizations estimated that the bill will cost 11 billion dollars to implement and impose unrealistic burdens on the states.